Metamorphosis

"Memora! Memora Plitus come here now! You are late for the daily announcement!"

Memora sighed. As useful as it was, her parents being Counsellers had some major disadvantages. Like wanting her to join the party, get perfect grades and be seen to be on time for every announcement and "Volunteer Work".

"Coming mother" Memora shouted back, quickly slipping her favourite dress style on - dress style Number 4 (Engineer Chic) and changing the colour to her favourite shade of pale blue. All the clothes were metallic, breathable and fitted with a computer chip so that their colour could be changed, and their wearer followed.

"I love the shape and colour of my dress," she thought, "But I wish I could have a pattern, or more than one colour..."

Memora quickly put these thoughts out of her head. "After all, people had worked very hard to design and run our society..."

"MEMORA!!!!!"

Memora ran downstairs where her furious mother awaited her.

"You are in sooo much trouble young lady. After the daily announcement, you are getting the biggest talking to of your life. And what the hell are you wearing!?"

"Raychell, we're late enough as it is. We can discuss this later." Memora's father, Roger, was far more laid back and doting than his ambitious wife. No one could do wrong by his Meem.

They made their way to the announcement room, Raychell still scowling at her daughter's dress sense. Memora quickly ran and joined her friends while her parents talked with the party elite.

Zalley was a red-haired girl who was very creative. She wore a deep green Dress Style Number 6 (Artistic Overalls) She and Memora had been best friends since they were babies and it was Zalley who had come up with Memora's nickname: Meem.

Samme was a small quiet girl, who had a passion for heavy metal music and horror. She had dark hair and, like Memora, wore Dress Style Number 4. But unlike Memora she wore black. The 3 girls stood together and attracted more than an odd glance. They were chatting about the same thing as they always talked about - finding Memora a boyfriend.

"I' m too young to have a boyfriend!" Meem protested.

"You always say that and besides you're 17. I have been going out with Darrell for 2 years now and well nothing bad has happens to me." Samme replied.

Zalley sighed.

"Stop fighting you two. The announcement's about to start."

She seemed disturbingly anxious that she would miss the announcement. The same or very similar announcement full of party propaganda that she had heard every day of her life.

The announcement began.

"Good morning citizens of the ship (note* I'm not telling yet!). I would like to inform you of our new developments, but first an important announcement from HQ."

There was a murmur spreading through the crowd.

"What could the announcement be? Are we nearly at our destination?" Samme's eyes widened as she said this. The 3 girls pondered this for a moment. The announcement came back on.

"There is disturbing news. It appears that a secret organisation calling themselves "The Butterfly Revolution" is planning an attack on the loyal citizens of this ship."

There were murmurs and snickers at this.

"The Butterfly Revolution?" snickered Zalley. "Really?"

A man from the crowd steps forward, up onto the platform at the front of the room.

"Please do not be alarmed," he says, pale with anxiety, or perhaps lack of food "This next process is necessary for your own good. Louiza! Greice! Organise the troops..."

Two girls step forward. The crowd gasps as they see them, as they are not wearing approved clothing styles, but more a kind of ancient camouflage, covered in butterflies.

"What are they going to do?" whispers Meem.

One of the girls, the taller one calls:

"Attention! Please comply and your death will be swift! If you do not comply, I will let Crow have you. Understand?"

"What?! Death? But the ship troops must protect us..." cries a terrified Zalley

The revolutionaries draw out semi-automatic weapons, concealed in their strange, illegal clothing. They begin to fire randomly into the crowd, first at the Counsellers. Roger notices this sooner than Raychell, and amongst the screams of terror, whispers to her:

"I love you."

He stands in front of her protecting her from most of the bullets, but, alas, he dies before she can run to safety and she is hit. Meem, Samme and Zalley see this with horror.

"I know where we can hide," a terrified and shocked Meem squeaks as Zalley gets hit from behind.

Meem screams, but Samme, being older and braver, grabs her by the hand and leads her away from the massacre.

"We can hide in the heating vents..." Meem speaks, almost therapeutically

"Shut up! They'll hear us!" Samme is more sensible than Meem and quiets her friend. They climb into a heating vent, and sob.

"We know you're in there," an all too happy female voice "Louiza,we got two live ones..."

They shoot blindly into the vent and Samme is hit in the neck. Meem clasps her hand over her mouth so as not to scream. Her friend stares wide eyed and cold into the vent.

"Anyone there?...No? Okay then...Sector 6 vents clear." Greice buzzes into her walkie-talkie.

"Louiza! Louiza?...Oh God....Why Crow? But you weren't chosen...No!"

Greice falls down and lies next to her friend. The revolution is over for them. But Meem is an unexpected hitch in the Revolutionarie's plan...

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Big thank you to my friend (who appears as Zalley) who did my cover! Check out her deviantart profile, inkwaif. Also a big thanks to ifindedcake (appears as Samme) who proof-readand who finished the cover. Please check out her stories, In the Absence of a Good Life or A New Type of Realism. Please comment and tell me what you think! Chapter 2 out soon!